Flour-sifter.



' PATENTED MAR. 20 1906. ,l

' W. Gf GADUE.

y PLOUR SIFTER. l APPLIATION FILED JULY 26.1905.

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WiLLrAM'TGLGADUEOFBURLINGTON, VERMONT, AssrGNoR fro vGADUE inw, orBURLINGTON,l VERMONT, A

DUSTLEss-'rnoun srrrER @OMP y VG@RIDORATI'Oli' @Ff VERMONT.

PATNT ormoni.

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n Beitjk-nown thatL-WILLI-AMG. GADUE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Burlington, Ainthe county: 'of Chittenden and State;of-Vermo'ntfhave invented certain new and usefull Improyernents in:Flour-Sifters 'and I do 'hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact-description oftheinven.-

i' tion', such-aswill,enableothers skilled in the art to which itappert'ains; to make yand usethe same.'

My invention consistsof certain improvements -in flour-sifters ofthegeneral `kind setm view of the agitator;

yAisthe body ofthe 'flounreceptacle orcan,

`which, as shown, is madin cylindricalformf It has atgj its upper endf-a 3suitable device for providing., a lateral `support-'for `theupperend l:0f-the agtatnlrsllaft; which :passes loosely through it, said`device'loeingrremovable', in-

` asmuch; as the shaft Aand agitator aref so f connected together .thatthey'are ftaken out fromand; put into'I the can "bodily and )to- :gethenandtherefore the-,mouth'of the can IlfliUlStbe;A unobstructed 'whentheagitator isl takenout or putin.; The devicefor furnish-A ing lsuchlateral-su port -eonsists'in the present instance,as;:il1`own, oftheremovable pcover D, formed with a vrcentral hole up through whichthe'upp'ere'nd of the agitatorshaft loosely passes, ashereinafter-described'.

sides C of whichareicrimped, soldered, or otherwise secured attheirupper edge to the lower end of the body A. The sides C of thispan-like member are flaring, of frusto-conical shape, contracting towardthe bottom, which is nearly entirely cut away, leaving only a narrowannular band or ledge D surrounding the opening, this opening beingcovered by a screen or netting which forms the sieve specification' ofLetters ratenef Application nea my 26, 19105. serial No. 271,346.

Patented Mafh; 2 0, 'lecci surface.

.The agitator is a castingsirmlar to that set forth in `my aforesaidreissued Letters Patent, being composed of curved spokes J and farimsupported upon their upturned ends.' l

The spokes, as shown, are siX in number, but

side vare curved -in one direction, while those on the` otherfside arecurved in the 'opposite direction. The two center spokesrj j, as

may be of any desired number Those on one shown,'are bridged b y acenter plateK, having in it a squared opening to receive the squared endlof the shaft E for actuating the agitator.` The rimsupported inelevated position on the upturned i-ends `of the spokes is,. as shown,`formed not as acontinuous ring, but in two sections MM"7 being brokenaway atopposite sides to leave spaces n and nf, wherebyf'the lumps andother particles .contained inthe flour will vbe Vmore readily 'thrown'outward upon the ledge D and kept there, and the agitator itself willmore readily and easily cut its `way' through the iiour,fthusrequiringfless' power to operate it. The agitator'is ofr'a diameterbutlittle less than the bottom of the` pan-like member C, so that itsspokes willeX- tend Vbeyond the sieve-surface and will lap over up onand rest on the ledge D and not upon the sieve-surface, reachingverynearlyto the frusto-conical wall C, whichl` will thus be a guideV toassure the agitator from undue lateral shifting, even if, as in thepresent iny stance, itv be otherwise unconfmed.v The rimsections- M Mbeing ,supported in elevated position upon 'the upturned outer vends Lofthe Ispokes do not interfere withthe outward travel Vof the'lumps andother particles con-l I tained in the flour due .to the action ofv 'the`spokeswhen in movement. When the 'agitator is in operation, theselumps,"&cf., are'byj-f -the f action ofthe spokes thrown outwardly`beyond the sieve-surface, passing under the rim M M and upon the ledgeD, where they remain. i In action the agitator does not touch thesieve-surface, nor, indeed, does it contact eXcept at the start with theledge D, the flour soon working between the ledge and the agitator andforming a lubricating-film, which eases the travel of the spokes. To theIOO IOSI

same end the spokes have, preferably, a slight upward bend toward theirouter ends. The agitator is provided with an actuatingshaft E, whichpasses loosely through the cover B and has on its end whichprojectsabove the cover an operating crank-handle F, detachably connected to it.The lower end of the shaft is reduced in diameter and squared, as at G,this portion G passing through the square opening i in the bridgeplate Kof the agitator and having its eX- treme lower end upset or headed, theagitator being held between the said headed or upset end and the.shoulder H, while the shaft itself at its lower end is Wholly carriedand supported by the agitator. The thickness of the plate K is less thanthe length of the squared portion G, and the opening i', in the plate issomewhat larger than said part G, there being thus formed between theshaft and the agitator a loose connection, Which will permit theagitator to rock upon the shaft while rotating with it.

To use the device, the agitator and its connected shaft E are first putinto the can, the agitator resting on the ledge D in the position shownin Figs. l and 2. The can is then filled more or less with Hour, thecover B is put on, the shaft E passing up through the hole therein, andthe crank F is fitted to the shaft. TheA sifter is now ready for work.All that is needed is to rotate the crank The shaft E is connected tothe agitator and to nothing else. It rests upon and is carried by theagitator. Thus, as hereinbefore pointed out, the agitator and the shaftmay be permanently connected together and can be removed from andreplaced in the can bodily and together, which is not the case in thestructure illustrated in my aforesaid patent. The loose joint betweenthe two permits of a rocking motion of the agitator when in action,which facilitates the rotary movement of the same and eXpedites thesifting operation. The action of the spokes and of the elevatedsectional rim has before been referred to and need not be repeated here.

The sifter thus made and operating has been designed principally for useas a iioursifter; but manifestly it can be used to sift otherpulverulent materials, and I desire to be understood4 as including suchuse in my claims.

Having described my improvements and the best way now known to me ofcarrying the same into effect, I state in conclusion sisfiis that I donot limit myself strictly to the structural details hereinbefore setforth in `illustration of said improvements, since manifestly the samecan be varied to some extent without departure from my invention; but lWhat I claim herein as new, and desire to i secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. A receptacle having at the bottom a screen and at the top a removableguide through which the agitator-shaft loosely passes and by which it islaterally supported, in combination with the agitator of a diametergreater than the screen, composed of curved spokes with upturned endsand a rim supported in elevated position thereon, and a verticalactuating-shaft, at its upper end loosely passing up through theremovable guide for furnishing it lateral support, as aforesaid, and atits lower end resting upon, carried by, and loosely connected to, theagitator only, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore setforth.

2. A receptacle composed of a body, and a pan-like member closing thelower end of said body, having flaring sides, and a bottom consisting ofa screen and an annular band or ledge surrounding the screen, incombination with an agitator of a diameter nearly that of the bottom ofthe pan-like member, consisting of curved spokes with upturned ends, anda rim supported in elevated position on said ends, a vertical shaftcarried and supported by, and loosely attached to, the agitator only,and a removable guide at the top of the can through which the upperportion of the shaft passes and by which it is laterally supported,substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

3. The sifter herein described, comprising the receptacle-body A, thecover B, pan-like bottom C, D, with screen applied to the cen.- tralopening therein, the agitator, consisting of curved spokes which extendoutwardly beyond the screen-surface and overlap the band or ledge D, anda rim supported in elevated position on the upturned ends of saidspokes, and the shaft E carried by and connected to the agitator onlyand passing up loosely through the cover, substantially as and for thepurposes hereinbefore set forth.

In testimony whereof I do affix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

WILLIAM G. GADUE.

Witnesses:

VERNON A. BULLARD, BEssIE H. WELLER."v

IOO

